UC-NRLF 


NOTES 


ON 


COLLEGE  CHARTERS 


PROVIDENCE,  RHODE  ISLAND 
PUBLISHED   BY  THE   UNIVERSITY 

1910 


NOTES  ON  COLLEGE  CHARTERS! 

LIST  OF  COLLEGES  ESTABLISHED  IN  UNITED  STATES 
PRIOR  TO  1820. 

The  following  are  included  in  the  notes: 
"Harvard  University,  Mass.  (1638) 
*  Yale  University,  Conn.  ( 1 70 1 ) 

University  of  Pennsylvania.     (1740) 

Princeton  University,  N.  J.  (1746) 

Washington  &  Lee  University,  Va.     (1 749) 

Columbia  University,  N.  Y.     (1754) 

Brown  University,  R.  I.     (1764). 

Rutgers  College,  N.  J.     (1766) 

Dartmouth  College,  N.  H.     (1769) 
"Dickinson  College,  Pa.     (1 783) 

Williams  College,  Mass.     (1793) 

Bowdoin  College,  Maine.     (1 794) 
"Union  College,  N.  Y.     (1795) 

Middlebury  College,  Vt.  (1800) 
"Hamilton  College,  N.  Y.     (1812) 

The  following  are  not  included  in  the  notes: 
Hampton-Sidney  College,  Va.     (1776). 
Washington  College,  Md.     (1783). 
University  of  Nashville,  Tenn.     (1 785). 
St.  Johns  College,  Md.     (1 789). 
Georgetown  University,  D.  C.     (1791). 
Greeneville  &  Tusculum  College,  Tenn.     (1794). 
Washington  College,  Tenn.     (1 795). 
Washington  &  Jefferson  College,  Pa.     (1802). 
Moravian  College,  Pa.     ( 1 807). 
Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Md.     (1808). 
Allegheny  College,  Pa.     (1813). 
Colgate  University,  N.  Y.     (1819). 
Maryville  College,  Tenn.     (1819). 


56304 


OTHER  COLLEGES  OF  LATER  DATE  INCLUDED  IN 
THE  NOTES. 

*Amherst,  Mass.     (1821) 
*Trinity,  Conn.     (1823) 
*Wesleyan,  Conn.     (1831) 

The  *  denotes  that  the  college  has  an  alumni  representation  on  its 
governing  board.  In  the  case  of  Harvard,  Yale,  and  Amherst  this 
was  secured  to  the  alumni  by  transfer  of  such  appointing  power  as 
the  charters  of  these  institutions  accorded  to  the  State.  In  several 
other  colleges  nominations  to  trusteeship  are  made  by  the  alumni. 

The  above  lists  do  not  include  colleges  now  maintained  as  state 
institutions. 


tPrepared  by  Thomas  S.  Barbour;  read  and  approved  by 
George  E.  Horr;  submitted  as  a  Report  to  the  Committee  on 
Charter  Revision,  February,  1910;  subsequently  submitted  for  ver- 
ification to  officials  of  the  several  colleges. 


HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  (1638) 

Harvard  College  originated  in  action  of  the  General  Court  or 
Legislature  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  1636,  when 
suffrage  was  restricted  to  members  of  the  Colonial  Church.  In 
1637  twelve  of  "the  most  eminent  men  of  the  Colony"  were 
appointed  by  the  General  Court  "to  take  order  for  a  college  at 
Newtowne"  (Cambridge).  In  1642  the  general  administration  of 
the  college  was  committed  to  a  Board  of  Overseers  which  included 
"the  Governor  and  magistrates  of  the  Colony"  and  "the  teaching 
elders"  of  the  six  towns  "next  adjoining"  the  locality  of  the  college. 

The  Board  of  Overseers  having  proved  too  large  for  effectiveness, 
a  charter  was  granted  in  1 650,  twelve  years  after  the  founding  of  the 
college,  by  which  the  college  was  made  a  Corporation  under  the 
name  "President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College."  The  Corpo- 
ration included  the  president,  five  fellows  and  a  treasurer,  and  was 
self-perpetuating.  It  was  provided  "that  all  orders  and  by-laws 
of  the  Corporation  shall  have  the  consent  of  the  overseers." 

After  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  in  1 780,  when  the  constitution 
of  the  new  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  was  framed,  articles 
were  introduced  "securing  to  the  president  and  fellows  of  Harvard 
College  the  perpetual  enjoyment  of  all  their  vested  rights  and 
powers"  and  "  providing  for "  the  organization  of  the  Board  of 
Overseers.  From  the  outset  the  Corporation  was  held  to  be  free 
from  control  by  the  civil  power  except  as  this  was  exercised  by  the 
Board  of  Overseers  who  continued,  ex-officio,  representative  of  the 
State  and  of  the  Congregational  churches,  which,  after  extension  of 
the  civil  suffrage  under  the  charter  of  King  William  in  1692, 
were  separated  from  the  colonial  organization.  The  Board  of 
Overseers,  thus  composed  originally  of  representatives  of  the  State, 
was  from  the  outset  subject  to  legislative  control.  The  constitution 
of  1 780,  in  the  article  relating  to  overseers,  provided  that  all  power 
of  control  resident  in  the  colonial  legislature  should  be  recognized 
as  transferred  to  the  legislature  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  that 
nothing  in  the  provisions  of  the  act  should  be  so  construed  as  to 
prevent  the  legislature  from  exercising  such  power  as  it  deemed 
conducive  to  the  advantage  of  the  University. 

In  1810,  by  action  of  the  legislature,  the  Board  of  Overseers  was 
made  mainly  elective,  instead  of  ex-officio.  It  was  provided  that, 


in  addition  to  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Councillors, 
the  President  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  fifteen 
ministers  of  Congregational  churches,  and  fifteen  laymen,  all 
resident  in  the  State,  should  be  chosen  by  ballots  of  the  Overseers. 
It  was  provided  that  this  act  should  take  effect  when  ratified 
by  the  Overseers  and  the  Corporation. 

Two  years  later,  in  1812,  the  act  of  1810  was  repealed  by  the 
legislature.  This  action  was  strongly  resisted  by  the  Corporation 
which  urged  that  its  inviolable  rights  were  invaded  by  any  change 
made  without  its  consent  in  the  constitution  of  the  body  to  whose 
control  it  was  subject.  The  protest  of  the  Corporation  prevailed, 
and  in  1814  the  act  of  1812  was  repealed  and  the  act  of  1810 
again  became  operative.  A  provision  prevailing  prior  to  1810 
was  restored,  that  members  of  the  Senate  of  the  Commonwealth 
should  be  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers.  All  changes  made 
since  181 4  by  the  legislature  have  been  made  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  governing  boards  of  the  institution. 

In  1834,  when  the  denominational  restrictions  in  the  choice  of 
overseers  was  removed,  membership  in  the  Board  of  Overseers  was 
opened  "to  all  denominations  of  Christians."  In  1851  provision 
was  made  for  the  grouping  of  the  members  of  this  board  into  six 
classes  to  be  chosen  by  the  legislature  for  a  service  of  five  years  each. 
In  1865  organic  connection  between  the  college  and  State  ceased 
in  the  passage  of  an  act  by  which  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers were  to  be  filled  by  the  alumni  of  the  college.  In  1880 
residents  of  other  States  were  made  eligible  to  appointment. 

The  Board  of  Overseers  now  consists  of  thirty  members  divided 
into  six  classes  and  chosen  by  the  alumni.  The  Corporation 
continues  in  its  original  form,  acting  under  the  original  charter  of 
1650  confirmed  by  the  special  section  embodied  in  1780  in  the 
constitution  of  the  State. 

YALE  UNIVERSITY  (1701). 

Yale  College,  like  Harvard,  originated  as  a  feature  of  the 
colonial  life.  It  was,  however,  unlike  Harvard  in  that  at  the  date 
of  its  founding  civil  suffrage  was  no  longer  restricted  to  church 
members.  The  original  charter,  granted  by  the  General  Assembly 


of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut  in  1 70 1 ,  contemplated  a  collegiate 
school,  which  at  the  first  was  established  for  a  time  in  Saybrook, 
Connecticut.  Ten  ministers  of  the  colony,  chosen  apparently  by 
their  fellow  ministers  with  the  general  consent  of  the  people,  were 
empowered  as  trustees  to  carry  on  the  school  "  within  his  Majesty's 
Colony  of  Connecticut,  "  and  to  perpetuate  their  own  body.  By 
an  additional  act  in  1 723,  the  "Rector"  of  the  school  was  made  a 
trustee  ex-officio.  In  1 745  the  present  charter  was  granted  by  the 
General  Assembly.  This  charter  reviews  the  action  granting  the 
preceding  charters  and  recognizes  the  existing  board  of  eleven 
members  with  the  provision  that  "they  and  their  successors  shall  and 
may  elect  and  appoint  a  president  or  fellow  in  the  room  and  place 
of  any  who  may  die." 

In  1 763  an  attempt  was  made  to  secure  by  action  of  the  Legis- 
lature appointment  of  a  body  of  Overseers  for  control  of  the  work  of 
the  Trustees.  The  effort  was  successfully  resisted  as  an  invasion  of 
the  chartered  rights  of  the  college.  But  in  1 792,  a  grant  of  money 
was  proffered  by  the  State  and  was  accepted  upon  the  condition, 
"that  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor  and  six  senior  assistants 
in  the  Council  of  this  State"  should  be  added  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  constituting  with  them  a  single  corporation.  This 
proposition,  apparently  after  much  debate,  was  accepted  by  the 
college.  In  accepting  it  the  college  secured  from  the  State  an  act  by 
which  self-perpetuating  power  was  continued  to  the  original  group 
of  Trustees,  and  this  was  now  definitely  declared  to  be  perpetual. 
"In  case  of  vacancy,  by  the  death,  or  resignation  of  any  of  the 
present  Fellows  of  said  college,  and  their  successors,  or  in  any  other 
way,  every  such  vacancy  shall  forever  hereafter  be  supplied  by 
them,  and  their  successors,  by  election..." 

At  a  later  time,  six  senior  members  of  the  Senate  of  the  State 
were  substituted  for  the  six  senior  members  of  the  Council  in 
the  group  of  trustees  added  to  the  body  in  1792.  In  1872,  by 
request  of  the  Corporation,  an  act  was  passed  providing  for  the 
substitution  of  representatives  chosen  by  the  alumni  in  the  place  of 
the  six  Senators  of  the  State. 

The  Corporation  is  now  composed  of  nineteen  members  com- 
prising (1 )  a  self-perpetuating  group — the  president  and  ten  Fellows 


who  are  officially  known  as  "Successors  of  the  Original  Trustees," 
(2)  six  members  elected  by  the  alumni  from  graduates  of  five  years' 
standing,  who  serve  for  a  term  of  six  years  each,  (3)  the  Governor 
and  Lieutenant-Governor  ex-officiis.  The  entire  Corporation  acts 
in  the  choice  of  the  president  of  the  University,  though  not  acting 
in  the  election  of  the  other  ten  fellows  included  in  the  self-perpet- 
uating group. 

An  official  of  the  college  writes,  "There  is  no  denominational 
name  in  the  charter  or  any  of  the  official  legislative  documents  re- 
garding Yale.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Successors  of  the  "Original 
Trustees,"  until  comparatively  recently,  were  all  Congregational 
ministers  of  Connecticut.  This  was  because  the  Original  Trustees 
were  Congregational  ministers,  they  being  the  only  clergymen  in 
the  State  at  the  time,  and  naturally  the  leaders  in  education.  At 
present  two  of  the  Successors  of  the  Original  Trustees  are  laymen, 
and  one  is  not  a  Congregationalist.  Yale  has  always  been 
legally  an  entirely  undenominational  institution,  but  it  has  never 
forgotten,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  never  will  forget,  the  obligation 
which  it  is  under  to  the  Congregational  ministers  of  Connecticut, 
to  whom  its  strength  in  its  early  days  was  mainly  due." 

UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  (1740). 

In  1749  twenty-four  "public  spirited  citizens"  of  Philadelphia 
associated  themselves  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  academy, 
thereby  "laying  a  foundation  for  posterity  to  erect  a  seminary  of 
learning  more  extensive  and  suitable  to  their  future  circumstance." 
A  building  constructed  under  a  trust  established  in  1740  and 
intended  for  use  as  a  "charity  school  and  a  house  of  public  worship" 
was  conveyed  to  them,  and  the  academy  was  opened  in  1 750. 
Two  years  later  a  charter  was  secured  from  Thomas  Penn  and 
Richard  Penn,  proprietaries  and  governors-in-chief  of  the  province 
of  Pennsylvania.  Twenty-four  Trustees  were  created  who  with 
"such  others  as  shall  be  from  time  to  time  chosen,  nominated  or 
Delected  in  their  place  and  stead  shall  be  one  corporation"  "to  have 
continuance  forever"  by  the  name  of  the  "Trustees  of  the  Academy 
and  Charitable  School  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania." 

8 


After  two  years  the  proprietaries  were  asked  to  convert  the 
academy  into  a  college.  Authority  was  given  to  the  Trustees  of 
the  academy  to  organize  the  institution.  Later  (1761-1764) 
funds  were  raised  in  England  for  an  endowment  for  the  college. 

In  1 764  a  letter  was  received  by  the  Trustees  from  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  Thomas  and  Richard  Perm,  and  others, 
advising  them  as  to  their  future  procedure.  This  letter,  after  stating 
that  the  institution  was  originally  founded  and  carried  on  for  the 
benefit  of  a  mixed  body  of  people  and  that  its  faculty  represented 
several  Christian  communions,  advised  that,  as  jealousies  had  arisen 
lest  the  foundation  should  be  narrowed  and  some  party  exclude  the 
rest  or  one  be  put  on  a  worse  footing  than  others,  "a  fundamental 
rule  or  declaration  be  adopted  as  a  safeguard  against  this  danger." 
The  Trustees  adopted  a  statement  declaring  that  they  would  "keep 
this  plan  closely  in  their  view  and  use  their  utmost  endeavors  that 
the  same  be  not  narrowed  nor  the  members  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land or  those  dissenting  from  them,"  (in  future  election  of  members 
to  the  offices  mentioned  in  the  letter)  "be  put  on  any  worse  footing 
in  this  seminary  than  they  were  at  the  time  of  obtaining  the  royal 
brief." 

In  1779  this  resolution  was  construed  by  the  Legislature  as  a 
narrowing  of  the  foundation  of  the  institution  and  was  made  a 
pretext  for  confiscating  all  rights  and  properties  of  the  college 
which  were  given  to  a  new  organization  "Trustees  of  the  University 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania."  Ten  years  later  these  rights  and 
properties  were  restored.  In  1 79 1  an  act  was  passed  amalgamating 
the  old  college  with  the  new  university  under  the  name  "The 
University  of  Pennsylvania."  Each  of  the  Boards  was  to  elect 
twelve  persons  who  with  the  Governor  as  president  should  consti- 
tute the  new  Corporation. 

Since  1 79 1  no  change  has  been  made  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  Corporation  or  in  the  Charter  of  the  University. 

PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY  (1746). 

Princeton  University,  known  until  1896  as  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  was  founded  by  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York  which  then  included  New  Jersey.  Chartered  by  the 


Province  of  New  Jersey  in  1 746,  the  college  was  opened  at 
Elizabethtown  in  1 747.  No  copy  of  the  original  charter  is 
recorded,  but  from  an  official  summary  published  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Gazette  and  the  Pennsylvania  Journal  in  1 747  it  appears 
that  the  Board  of  Trustees  consisted  of  twelve  members,  (three 
laymen  and  nine  Presbyterian  ministers)  with  power  of  "perpetual 
succession  to  continue  forever,"  and  also  power  to  make  any  laws, 
etc.,  for  the  government  of  the  college  not  repugnant  to  the  statutes 
of  the  realm  and  the  laws  of  the  Province,  "provided,  that  no 
person  be  debarred  any  of  the  privileges  of  the  said  college  on 
account  of  any  speculative  principles  of  religion;  but  those  of 
every  religious  profession"  to  have  "equal  privilege  and  advantage 
of  education  in  the  said  college."  No  denominational  restriction 
was  placed  upon  the  Trustees. 

In  1 748  a  new  charter  was  granted,  increasing  the  possible 
number  of  trustees  to  twenty-three,  the  Governor  of  the  Province 
to  be  included  ex-offido.  The  college  then  was  removed  to 
Newark  and  in  1 757  to  Princeton.  The  new  charter  gave  the 
Trustees  power  to  fill  vacancies  "so  that  the  whole  number  of 
Trustees  exceed  not  twenty-three,"  and  it  provided  that  the 
Corporation  "may  have  perpetual  succession  and  continue  forever." 
In  this  charter  also  no  religious  test  or  denominational  restriction 
of  any  kind  was  required,  nor  was  any  proportion  between  lay 
and  clerical  trustees  specified.  Of  the  original  trustees  under  this 
charter  eleven  (including  the  Governor)  were  laymen,  and  twelve 
were  Presbyterian  ministers.  Among  the  laymen  were  represented 
the  Presbyterian,  Episcopal  and  Quaker  denominations. 

Changes  in  the  charter,  or  acts  of  legislature  affecting  consti- 
tution of  all  colleges  in  the  State  appear  in  1780,  1781,  1786, 
1796,  1799,  1864,  1866,  1868,  1889,  1894,  1896,  1901  and 
1905. 

The  changes  relate  to  the  number  constituting  a  quorum,  to 
extension  of  the  limit  of  property  holdings  and  to  increase  in  the 
number  of  Trustees, —  which  was  twelve  in  1  746,  and  twenty-three 
in  1 748;  in  1 868  the  number  was  increased  to  twenty-seven,  and 
in  1901,  by  a  general  act  of  the  legislature  applying  to  all  colleges 
in  the  State,  was  made  subject  to  the  will  of  the  governing  body. 

10 


The  Board  of  trustees  consists  now  (1910)  of  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  the  President  of  the  University,  twenty-five  life  trustees 
who  fill  their  own  vacancies,  and  five  alumni  trustees,  the  latter 
elected  one  each  year  by  the  alumni  of  the  University  for  a  term 
of  five  years  and  eligible  to  re-election. 

Except  for  the  ex-officio  membership  of  the  Governor  of  the 
State  in  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the  University  has  no  connection 
with  the  State. 

WASHINGTON  AND  LEE  UNIVERSITY  (1749). 

Washington  and  Lee  University,  Lexington,  Virginia,  grew  out 
of  an  institution  known  at  first  as  Augusta  Academy.  The  Charter 
of  the  college  dates  from  1782.  In  1796  gifts  of  valuable  stock 
were  made  by  General  Washington,  which  were  changed  by  the 
Legislature  into  an  interest-bearing  fund  of  $50,000,  the  name 
being  changed  to  Washington  College.  In  1865  General  Robert 
E.  Lee  became  President,  and  after  his  death,  in  1870,  the 
institution  received  its  present  name.  The  records  furnished  by  the 
officers  of  the  college  do  not  give  the  provisions  of  the  original 
charter. 

In  January,  1 876,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Virginia  Legislature 
modifying  the  charter.  A  group  of  fifteen  trustees  was  continued 
with  the  provision  that  they  and  their  successors  should  fill  vacancies 
so  that  their  number  "shall  not  exceed  fifteen."  It  was  provided 
further  that  "They  may  associate  with  themselves  such  other 
persons  as  associate  Trustees  not  exceeding  nine  in  number"  as 
they  might  deem  advisable,  who  should  be  elected  "in  such 
manner  and  for  such  term  and  shall  have  such  qualifications"  as 
the  Board  of  Trustees  should  prescribe.  The  act  was  to  be  in 
force  after  its  acceptance  by  a  majority  of  the  Trustees. 

The  act  of  the  General  Assembly  was  adopted  by  the  Trustees 
with  provision  for  appointment  by  the  Board  of  three  Associate 
Trustees  who  were  to  hold  their  office  for  three  years  under 
election  by  the  Board,  not  more  than  one  being  a  resident  of  any 
one  State  and  the  choice  being  confined  so  far  as  practicable  to 
the  alumni  of  the  University. 

11 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  (1754). 

The  institution  was  originally  chartered  by  King  George  II.  in 
1754,  under  the  name  "The  Governors  of  the  College  of  the 
Province  of  New  York  in  the  City  of  New  York  in  America"  and 
was  popularly  known  as  "King's  College."  The  movement  origi- 
nated in  action  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  in  1 746, 
which  authorized  the  opening  of  a  lottery  whose  proceeds  should 
be  held  for  the  purpose  of  "founding  a  college  for  the  education 
of  youth  in  such  manner  as  should  thereafter  be  directed  by  the 
Governor,  Council  and  General  Assembly." 

The  charter  approved  the  acceptance  of  a  "parcel  of  ground" 
given  as  a  site  for  the  college  by  the  body  now  known  as  "Trinity 
Church."  It  constituted  a  group  of  Trustees  which  included  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
Province  of  New  York,  and  others  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
positions  among  whom  were  the  Rector  of  Trinity  Church  and 
the  ministers  of  the  "Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church,"  the 
"Lutheran  Church,"  the  "French  Church,"  the  "Presbyterian 
Congregation,"  to  whom  were  to  be  added  the  president  of  the 
the  college  and  twenty-four  other  persons.  The  Trustees  were 
given  power  to  elect  a  president  who  should  be  "in  communion 
with  the  Church  of  England"  and  to  elect  successors  to  their 
number  in  so  far  as  these  did  not  hold  their  membership  by  virtue  of 
their  official  or  ecclesiastical  position.  The  charter  provided  that 
no  person  should  be  excluded  from  the  College  on  account  of  his 
religious  views. 

In  1784,  after  the  interruptions  suffered  during  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  "The  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New 
York"  were  incorporated,  and  the  control  of  the  college  was  vested 
in  this  corporation,  the  name  of  the  institution  being  changed  to 
"Columbia  College." 

The  Governor  and  other  leading  officials  of  the  State  were  con- 
stituted perpetual  Regents  by  virtue  of  their  offices,  other  Regents  to 
the  number  of  twenty-four  being  created  and  provision  being  made 
that  "the  clergy  of  each  of  the  religious  denominations"  of  the  State 
might  name  an  additional  Regent.  Vacancies  were  to  be  filled  by 
the  Governor  of  the  State  with  the  consent  of  the  Council.  In 

12 


this  charter  no  limitation  appears  as  to  the  religious  connection  of 
the  President. 

In  1 787  the  management  of  the  property  of  the  college  was 
restored  to  an  independent  Board  of  Trustees,  and  all  provisions  for 
representation  of  official  or  other  positions  were  eliminated  from 
the  Charter.  A  group  of  twenty-nine  trustees  was  constituted 
with  the  provision  that,  when  by  death  or  resignation  the  number 
should  be  reduced  to  twenty-four,  these  should  continue  as  trustees 
with  self-perpetuating  power.  In  1810  a  new  act  "relative  to 
Columbia  College  in  the  State  of  New  York"  repeals  the  act  of 
1787  and  names  a  group  of  twenty-four  trustees  with  self-per- 
petuating power.  The  act  provides  that  the  ordinances  and  by- 
laws of  the  Corporation  shall  not  make  the  religious  tenets  of  any 
person  a  condition  of  admission  to  any  privilege  or  office  in  the 
college.  "A  majority  of  the  Trustees  have  usually  been  members 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  but  the  College  has  never  been  sectarian 
in  its  teaching  or  in  its  appointments." 

Since  1810  amendments  have  related  to  incidental  matters  of 
convenience,  to  the  holding  of  real  estate,  the  establishing  of  a 
Museum  and  Arboretum  in  Bronx  Park,  and  the  union  of  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  with  the  Trustees  of  Columbia  College. 

BROWN  UNIVERSITY  (1764). 

"In  1 762,  the  Philadelphia  Baptist  Association,  in  view  of  the 
disabilities  attaching  to  Baptist  students  in  most  of  the  existing 
American  colleges,  welcomed  a  proposal  offered  by  the  Rev.  Mor- 
gan Edwards,  a  clergyman  of  Welsh  birth,  at  that  time  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Philadelphia,  to  found  a  college  in 
Rhode  Island."  James  Manning,  who  had  just  been  graduated 
from  Princeton,  was  appointed  by  the  Association  as  its  agent 
in  realizing  this  aim. 

In  1764  a  charter  was  secured  from  the  General  Assembly  of 
Rhode  Island.  The  denominational  relation  of  the  college  was 
secured  through  the  constitution  of  the  governing  boards.  But 
the  charter  "enacted  and  declared  that  into  this  liberal  and 
catholic  institution  shall  never  be  admitted  any  religious  tests : 
But,  on  the  contrary,  all  the  members  hereof  shall  forever  enjoy 

13 


full,  free,  absolute,  and  uninterrupted  liberty  of  conscience:  And 
that  the  places  of  Professors,  Tutors,  and  all  other  Officers,  the 
President  alone  excepted,  shall  be  free  and  open  for  all  denomina- 
tions of  Protestants :  And  that  youth  of  all  religious  denomina- 
tions shall  and  may  be  freely  admitted  to  the  equal  advantages, 
emoluments  and  honors  of  the  College  or  University;  and  shall 
receive  a  like,  fair,  generous,  and  equal  treatment  during  their 
residence  therein." 

The  institution  was  known  for  forty  years  as  Rhode  Island 
College.  It  was  established  first  as  a  Latin  school  in  the  town  of 
Warren,  Rhode  Island.  This  choice,  however,  was  not  from  the 
outset  regarded  as  a  permanency,  and  after  a  spirited  contest  for 
the  honor  among  the  leading  towns  of  the  colony,  Providence 
was  chosen  as  the  home  of  the  institution. 

Funds  to  the  amount  of  $4500  had  been  raised  in  England  and 
Ireland  by  the  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards  in  1 767-8.  These  were 
constituted  a  permanent  fund  of  the  college.  Other  funds  raised  in 
Rhode  Island  and  other  sections,  including  gifts  from  the  Phila- 
delphia, Charleston  and  Warren  Baptist  Associations  and  a 
special  subscription  to  the  amount  of  $2500  secured  by  Rev. 
Hezekiah  Smith  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  were  applied 
to  the  erection  of  a  college  building  and  a  house  for  the  president 
and  to  the  support  of  the  college.  To  these  funds  contributions 
were  made  not  only  by  Baptists,  but  by  others  who  were  attracted 
by  the  liberal  foundation  of  the  college.  The  buildings  were 
erected  in  the  year  1 770.  The  work  of  the  college  was  interrupted 
in  December  1 776  by  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  not 
resumed  until  the  fall  of  1 782.  Meanwhile,  University  Hall  was 
used  as  a  barrack  and  hospital  for  the  American  and  French 
troops.  Nine  years  later,  at  the  death  of  President  Manning,  the 
college  had  a  graduate  roll  of  one  hundred  forty-nine,  with  a 
graduating  class  of  twenty-two. 

The  charter  provides  for  the  creation  of  two  governing  bodies 
constituting  one  body  corporate  and  politic  to  be  known  as  the 
Trustees  and  Fellows  of  the  college.  It  was  ordained  that  these 
bodies  "shall  at  all  times  sit  and  act  by  separate  and  distinct  powers 
and  in  general  in  order  to  the  validity  and  consummation  of  all 

14 


acts  there  shall  be  in  the  exercise  of  their  respective,  separate  and 
distinct  powers  the  joint  concurrence  of  the  Trustees  and  Fellows  by 
their  respective  majorities  except  in  adjudging  and  conferring  the 
academical  degrees,  which  shall  forever  belong  exclusively  to  the 
fellowship."  The  instruction  and  immediate  government  of  the 
college  were  "forever  to  be  and  rest  in  the  president  and  fellows  or 
fellowship."  The  Corporation  of  the  college  was  to  be  self-per- 
petuating, vacancies  in  the  two  boards  being  filled  by  concurrent 
favorable  action  of  the  two  bodies.  It  was  provided  that  "the 
number  of  the  Trustees  shall  and  may  be  thirty-six  of  which  twenty- 
two  shall  forever  be  elected  of  the  denomination  called  Baptists  or 
Anti-pedoBaptists,  five  shall  forever  be  elected  of  the  denomina- 
tion called  Friends  or  Quakers,  four  shall  forever  be  elected  of  the 
denomination  called  Congregationalists,  and  five  shall  forever  be 
elected  of  the  denomination  called  Episcopalians,"  and  that  "the 
succession  in  this  branch  shall  be  forever  chosen  and  filled  up  from 
the  respective  denominations  in  this  proportion  and  according  to 
these  numbers  which  are  hereby  fixed  and  shall  remain  to  per- 
petuity immutably  the  same."  It  was  further  provided  that  the 
number  of  Fellows,  "exclusive  of  the  president  who  shall  always 
be  a  Fellow,  shall  and  may  be  twelve,  of  which  eight  shall  forever 
be  elected  of  the  denomination  called  Baptists  or  Anti-pedo- 
Baptists and  the  rest  indifferently  of  any  or  all  denominations." 

A  single  change  has  been  effected  in  the  legal  status  of  the  college 
as  established  by  its  charter.  In  1863  the  legislature  passed  an 
act  modifying  the  exemption  of  the  president,  professors,  tutors  and 
students  of  the  college  from  "taxation,  serving  on  juries  and  menial 
services,"  by  the  provision  that,  so  far  as  the  families  of  president 
and  professors  were  involved,  the  exemption  should  extend  only 
to  property  of  a  value  of  ten  thousand  dollars  in  each  case.  This 
act  was  made  subject  to  its  acceptance  by  the  Corporation  of  the 
college.  It  was  accepted  by  the  Corporation  as  a  manifestation  of 
its  "cordial  compliance  with  a  reasonable  wish."  This  consti- 
tuted a  virtual,  though  not  formal,  amendment  of  the  college 
charter. 
RUTGERS  COLLEGE  (1766). 

A  royal  charter  for  an  institution  of  learning  to  be  called  "Queen's 
College"    was  granted  by    George  the  Third  through   William 

15 


Franklin,  Governor  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  in  1 766.  The 
petitioners  were  ministers  and  members  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  who  desired  an  institution  in  which  young  men  might 
be  prepared  for  the  ministry  in  order  that  their  congregations  might 
be  supplied  with  educated  pastors.  The  purpose  expressed  in  the 
charter  is  "for  the  education  of  youth  in  the  learned  languages, 
liberal  and  useful  arts  and  sciences,  and  especially  in  divinity, 
preparing  them  for  the  ministry  and  other  good  offices." 

The  charter  constituted  as  Trustees  four  men  from  "the  city  of 
New  York,  seventeen  from  the  Province  of  New  York,  and  the 
Governor,  the  President  of  the  Council,  the  Chief  Justice  and  the 
Attorney-General,  together  with  sixteen  others  from  the  Province 
of  New  Jersey."  Apparently  no  copy  of  this  charter  exists;  but 
before  it  went  into  operation,  an  amended  charter  was  given 
in  1770.  This  charter  constituted  "the  Trustees  of  Queen's 
College  in  New  Jersey,"  appointing  the  Governor,  the  President 
of  the  Council,  the  Chief  Justice,  the  Attorney-General,  with  fifteen 
others  from  the  colony  of  New  Jersey,  twenty  from  the  Province  of 
New  York,  and  two  from  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  as  Trustees. 
The  Board  was  made  self-perpetuating  and  limited  to  a  member- 
ship of  forty-one,  of  whom  not  above  one-third  should  at  any  time 
be  "of  those  ordained  ministers  of  the  Gospel"  and  was  em- 
powered to  appoint  professors,  tutors  and  any  inferior  officers  or 
ministers  which  it  "should  judge  necessary  for  the  use  of  the  college." 
No  restriction  as  to  place  of  residence  or  church  connections  of 
any  Trustees  is  prescribed  by  the  charter.  It  is  provided,  however, 
that  they  do  appoint  "a  qualified  person,  being  a  member  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  ....  to  be  the  President." 

In  1781  the  charter  was  amended  by  the  substitution  of  oaths  of 
allegiance  in  conformity  with  the  new  relation  to  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  and  removal  of  the  restriction  as  to  the  number  of  ministers 
upon  the  Board  and  as  to  the  officiating  of  civil  officers  other 
than  the  Governor  at  its  meetings.  In  1 799  a  further  amend- 
ment prescribed  the  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  In  1825  authority  was  given  to  the  Board  to  change 
the  time  of  the  college  commencement  and  to  transact  business 
without  a  specified  form  of  advertisement  in  the  newspapers. 

16 


By  this  act  also  the  name  of  the  college  was  changed  from  "Queen's 
College"  to  "Rutgers  College." 

In  1 869  an  extension  was  made  of  the  limit  of  property  holdings, 
and  all  limit  is  now  removed  by  general  laws  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey. 

DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE  (1769). 

Dartmouth  College  is  an  outgrowth  of  a  school  opened  in  1 754 
by  Rev.  Eleazer  Wheelock  in  his  home  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut 
for  the  Christian  education  of  Indian  youth.  Funds  for  the  school 
were  received  from  various  sources  including  private  individuals, 
and  the  General  Courts  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  New  Hampshire. 
An  endowment  was  secured  chiefly  through  the  effort  of  an  Indian 
preacher,  one  of  Dr.  Wheelock's  students  who  visited  England  in 
1765.  £10,000  was  thus  raised  and  committed  to  a  board  of 
Trustees  with  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  at  its  head.  It  was  now 
determined  to  extend  the  work  of  the  school  to  the  training  of 
English  as  well  as  of  Indian  youth.  Removal  to  New  Hampshire 
simplified  the  problem  of  a  charter  which  thus  far  it  had  been 
difficult  to  secure.  The  draft  of  the  charter  prepared  by  Dr. 
Wheelock  was  modified  in  important  ways  by  the  Governor  of  the 
province  who  in  particular  rejected  the  suggestion  of  a  co-ordinate 
Board  of  Trustees  in  Great  Britian  and  incorporated  the  institution 
as  a  college  rather  than  as  a  school  or  academy. 

The  Governor  of  the  State  and  eleven  others  were  named  as 
Trustees  under  the  provision,  "The  whole  number  of  said  Trustees 
consisting  and  hereafter  forever  to  consist  of  twelve  and  no  more." 

Dr.  Wheelock  was  made  president  of  the  college  with  power  to 
appoint  such  person  as  he  should  choose  to  succeed  him.  There- 
after power  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  presidency  was  held  by  the 
trustees.  Vacancies  in  the  Trustees  were  to  be  filled  by  the  body 
in  such  a  way  that  eight  should  be  residents  of  New  Hampshire 
and  seven  should  be  laymen. 

Changes  in  the  charter,  so  far  as  indicated  are, — removal  of 
all  limitations  as  to  the  property  holding  powers  of  the  body,  pro- 
vision that  a  legal  meeting  might  be  held  subject  to  such  notice 

17 


as  was  prescribed  by  the  rules  of  the  Trustees,  and  requirement  that 
seven,  instead  of  eight,  Trustees  should  be  residents  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

At  present  there  are  twelve  trustees  including  the  President. 
But  one  is  a  clergyman.  In  addition  to  these,  five  Councillors  of 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Chief-justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  are  "Ex-officio  trustees  of  the  college  in  relation 
to  funds  given  by  the  State  of  New  Hampshire." 

The  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire  in  1816  passed  an  act 
changing  the  name  of  the  college  to  "Dartmouth  University," 
enlarging  the  body  of  Trustees,  constituting  a  Board  of  Overseers 
for  reviewing  the  work  of  the  Trustees  and  giving  appointing 
power  to  the  State.  The  Trustees  were  opposed  to  the  change 
and  brought  an  action  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State, 
from  whose  decision  in  support  of  the  action  of  the  Legislature 
appeal  was  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
By  this  body  the  judgment  of  the  lower  Court  was  reversed — 
and  the  act  of  the  Legislature  was  pronounced  unconstitutional. 

DICKINSON  COLLEGE  (1783). 

Dickinson  College  was  founded  in  Carlisle,  Pa.,  1783.  An 
official  of  the  College  writes  as  follows :  "It  was  chartered  as  a 
non-sectarian  institution  'on  the  petition  of  a  number  of  persons  of 
established  reputation  for  patriotism,  integrity,  ability  and  humanity.' 
Frequently  aided  by  appropriations  from  the  treasury  of  the  State, 
the  College  came  eventually  to  be  regarded  as  an  institution  of 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  relation,  however,  was  not  one 
of  denominational  ownership  and  control,  but  rather  one  of  a  strong, 
sympathetic  interest.  In  1833,  the  College  came  by  amicable 
arrangement  under  the  friendly  auspices  of  certain  Conferences  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  but  without  change  in  any  of  the 
non-sectarian  features  of  its  charter.  This  is  the  relation  now 
existing." 

The  charter  provided  that  the  college  should  be  "under  the 
management  of  a  number  of  Trustees  not  exceeding  forty,"  that 
they  should  be  self-perpetuating,  that  neither  the  Principal  (Presi- 

18 


dent)  nor  members  of  the  faculty  while  they  remain  such  "shall 
ever  be  capable  of  the  office  of  Trustee,"  that  persons  of  every 
religious  denomination  might  be  made  Trustees,  that  the  number 
of  clergymen  thereby  appointed  Trustees  shall  never  be  lessened. 

It  was  further  provided  that  "the  constitution shall  remain 

the  inviolable  constitution  of  the  said  college  forever  and  the  same 
shall  not  be  altered  or  alterable  by  any  ordinance  or  law  of  the 
said  Trustees  or  in  any  other  manner  than  by  the  act  of  the  legis- 
lature of  the  State." 

In  1826  the  charter  was  amended  with  the  provision  that  "not 
more  than  one-third  of  the  Trustees  shall  at  anytime  be  clergymen" 
(the  act  to  take  effect  when  ratified  by  the  Trustees). 

In  1834  it  was  provided  that  the  Principal  of  the  college  should 
be  ex-officio  President  of  the  board  with  all  rights  of  other  Trustees, 
that  the  places  of  members  absent  from  meetings  of  the  board  for 
two  years  should  be  vacant  and  that  the  faculty  should  have  certain 
disciplinary  powers. 

In  1879  "at  the  term  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Cumber- 
land County,  the  Trustees  of  the  college  petitioned  that  the  charter 
be  amended  in  such  manner  that  the  term  of  office  of  each  Trustee 
be  limited  to  four  years  and  the  body  be  divided  into  four  equal 
classes,  the  term  of  one  of  which  should  close  each  year."  By 
order  of  the  Court  it  was  "declared  and  decided  that  the  amend- 
ments to  the  said  charter  are  hereby  granted  and  that  the  amend- 
ment should  be  a  part  of  the  charter  of  the  Trustees  of  Dickinson 
College." 

At  the  term  of  the  same  Court  in  1 889,  the  Trustees  petitioned 
that  the  requirement  of  an  oath  or  affirmation  be  changed  to  sub- 
scription in  a  permanent  record  book.  This  also  was  incor- 
porated with  the  charter. 

In  1890  the  Trustees  asked  for  authority  "to  increase  the  number 
of  Trustees  from  forty  to  fifty,  six  of  the  additional  ten  to  be  elected 
by  Trustees  at  large  and  four  by  the  alumni."  This  was  ordered 
by  the  Court. 

The  College  has  received  recognition  by  the  Trustees  of  the 
Carnegie  Foundation.  This,  the  President  of  the  College  states, 
was  "because  of  the  clearly  non-sectarian  character  of  its  charter, 

19 


and  the  declaration  of  the  Trustees  that,  while  definitely  under  the 
friendly  auspices  of,  and  maintaining  a  strongly  sympathetic  relation 
with,  the  Methodist  Church,  it  has  nevertheless  a  self-perpetuating 
Board  of  Trustees,  that  no  Conference  of  the  said  Church  has 
official  representation  on  the  Board,  and  that  in  no  way  is  the 
College  under  official  denominational  control." 

WILLIAMS  COLLEGE  (1793). 

The  college  owes  its  origin  to  an  educational  bequest  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  a  "free  school"  in  Williamstown.  The 
charter  of  this  school  granted  in  1 785  recites  the  provisions  of  the 
will  which  directs  that  money  obtained  by  sale  of  lands  shall  be 
used  "to  maintain  a  free  school  forever,  provided  the  township 
shall  fall  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay."  It  was  provided  further  that,  in  case  the  provisos  were  not 
complied  with,  the  money  should  be  appropriated  "to  some 
pious  and  charitable  uses."  The  executors  being  uncertain 
whether  the  township  had  so  far  fallen  within  the  designated 
territory  that  the  funds  might  legitimately  be  used  for  the  purpose, 
the  Legislature  decreed  that  the  money  be  used  for  a  free  school  in 
Williamstown. 

A  Corporation  was  created  with  the  provision  that  it  should 
"always  be  constituted  of  not  less  than  seven  or  more  than  nine" 
members.  Vacancies  were  to  be  filled  by  the  "Supreme  Judicial 
Court  of  Massachusetts."  The  Corporation  and  the  donation 
were  to  be  under  the  "visitation  and  direction  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court"  which  was  to  determine  "all  matters  of  doubt  or 
dispute  touching  the  duties  of  the  trustees  and  the  use  of  monies." 

In  1 792  the  trustees  of  the  school  in  a  petition  to  the  Legislature 
expressed  the  conviction  that  circumstances  were  "peculiarly 
favorable  to  a  seminary  of  a  more  public  and  important  nature." 
By  action  of  the  Legislature  a  college  "in  the  County  of  Berkshire" 
was  established.  The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Free  School  were 
constituted  Trustees  of  the  college,  and  the  funds  of  the  college 
including  the  proceeds  of  the  legacy  were  vested  in  them.  But 
the  college  was  considered  a  new  institution  and  a  new  charter 
was  granted  to  it.  This  provides  that  the  Trustees  shall  be  self- 

20 


perpetuating  and  that  their  number  "shall  never  be  greater  than 
seventeen  nor  less  than  eleven." 

The  Legislature  reserved  to  itself  a  power  of  change  in  the 
charter. 

In  1 796  an  additional  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  declaring 
that  the  new  Corporation  is  so  far  invested  with  the  powers  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  Free  School  that  it  may  prosecute  any  suit  or  action 
(apparently  in  relation  to  the  proceeds  of  the  original  legacy) 
which  those  trustees  had  begun. 

Apparently  no  changes  have  been  made  in  the  charter  of 
Williams  College,  except  the  according  of  permission  to  hold 
special  meetings  without  the  limits  of  Massachusetts  and  to  increase 
its  property  holdings.  The  peculiar  interest  of  the  history  of  the 
college  attaches,  not  to  change  of  charter,  but  to  the  use  of  the 
legacy  left  for  establishment  of  a  free  school.  It  does  not  appear 
whether  the  sanction  of  this  use  of  the  funds  by  the  Legislature  was 
on  the  ground  that  the  purpose  of  the  donor  was  substantially 
served,  or  on  the  ground  of  the  direction  given  in  the  will  that,  in 
case  the  provisos  were  not  complied  with,  the  money  should  be 
devoted  "to  some  pious  and  charitable  uses." 


BOWDOIN  COLLEGE  (1794). 

The  situation  in  Bowdoin  College  is  in  some  respects  unique. 
Here,  as  at  Harvard,  and  doubtless  because  of  the  form  of  organi- 
zation at  Harvard,  two  administrative  bodies  were  created, — the 
Trustees  and  the  Overseers.  Both  bodies  were  empowered  to  fill 
vacancies  in  their  number,  with  the  provision  that  the  number 
of  Trustees,  including  the  President  and  Treasurer  of  the  College, 
"shall  never  be  greater  than  thirteen  or  less  than  seven"  and  the 
number  of  Overseers  "shall  never  be  greater  than  forty-five  nor  less 
than  twenty-five."  The  provision  was  made  at  the  outset  that  the 
Legislature  might  "alter  or  annul  the  powers  vested  in  the  Corpo- 
ration as  shall  be  judged  necessary  to  promote  the  best  interest  of  the 
said  College."  The  provision  that  the  number  of  Trustees  and 
Overseers  as  indicated  should  never  be  altered  would  appear  to 

21 


indicate  that  the  reservation  of  power  of  change  as  made  by 
the  Legislature  pertained  to  the  powers  of  the  governing  Boards 
and  not  to  their  constitution.  When  the  separation  of  the  District 
of  Maine  from  Massachusetts  proper  occurred,  it  was  provided  that 
the  powers  accorded  to  the  Legislature  should  be  accorded  to 
the  Legislatures  of  the  two  States. 

The  one  change  made  in  the  charter  relates  to  an  extension 
of  the  legal  limits  of  property  holdings.  Action  to  this  effect  was 
taken  by  the  two  Legislatures.  The  adjustment  of  conditions  at 
the  institution  to  the  requirements  of  the  Carnegie  Trustees  did 
not  relate  to  the  charter,  but  to  conditions  under  which  certain 
gifts  had  been  accepted.  These  conditions  in  two  cases  were 
altered,  and  one  gift  of  $50,000  was  returned  to  the  donor.  The 
issue  of  charter  revision  did  not  arise. 

A  remarkable  episode  in  the  history  of  the  College-its  temporary 
administration  by  an  enlarged  body  of  Trustees  and  Overseers 
belongs  to  the  year  1821-1833.  The  provision  of  the  "Act  of 
Separation"  (1819)  that  the  powers  accorded  to  the  Legislature 
of  Massachusetts  should  thereafter  be  exercised  by  the  conjoint 
action  of  the  two  Legislatures,  was  incorporated  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  of  Maine.  But  this  Constitution  in  another  article 
made  the  granting  of  endowments  for  colleges  within  its  territory 
conditional  upon  the  right  to  enlarge  or  restrict  the  powers  exercised 
by  their  governing  bodies.  In  view  of  this  provision,  Bowdoin 
College  sought  from  the  two  Legislatures  permission  to  concede 
to  the  State  of  Maine  the  right  which  the  "Act  of  Separation" 
had  accorded  to  the  two  Legislatures.  Action  was  taken  by 
the  two  bodies  and,  in  1 82 1 ,  the  Legislature  of  Maine,  assuming 
that  a  right  of  independent  action  was  now  secured  to  it,  passed 
an  act  enlarging  the  two  Boards  of  the  College  and  giving  power 
of  appointment  of  their  members  in  part  to  the  Governor  and 
Council  of  the  State.  Other  legislative  changes  were  followed  in 
1 83 1  by  an  act  limiting  the  term  of  the  President  of  the  College 
to  a  single  year,  and  giving  power  of  removal  to  the  Boards  at 
their  pleasure.  A  vacancy  having  occured  under  this  ruling,  the 
President  brought  suit  in  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  for  recovery  of 

22 


salary.  Justice  Story  held  that  the  action  of  the  State  beginning 
with  that  of  1821  was  illegal.  His  opinion  was  based  upon 
the  grounds,  that  the  action  of  the  Maine  Legislature,  by  which 
the  power  originally  held  jointly  was  accorded  to  the  State  of 
Maine  independently,  was  defective  in  that  it  had  not  been 
submitted  for  specific  ratification  to  the  Legislature  of  Mass- 
achusetts— that  the  action  of  Massachusetts  contemplated  only 
changes  proposed  by  the  College  and  not  initiation  of  changes  by 
the  Legislature,  that  the  action  of  the  Maine  Legislature  in  the 
extensive  changes  made  far  exceeded  the  authority  contemplated 
in  the  enabling  act  since  this,  in  harmony  with  the  original  charter 
of  the  College,  proposed  only  the  exercise  by  the  State  of  the  right 
to  enlarge  or  restrict  the  powers  and  privileges  conferred  by  the 
charter  upon  the  Corporation  and  ihai  "only  in  such  degree  as 
should  be  judged  necessary  to  promote  the  best  interest  of  the 
College."  As  respects  the  action  in  1831,  he  held  that  the 
College  had  expressed  only  acquiescence  in  the  act  and  not 
approval,  and  that  if  approval  had  been  given,  this  could  not 
give  validity  to  action  which  was  in  itself  a  violation  of  the  terms 
of  the  charter.  "The  Legislature  and  Boards  are  not  the  only 
parties  in  interest  upon  such  constitutional  questions.  The  people 
have  a  deep  and  vested  interest  in  maintaining  all  the  constituent 
limitations  upon  the  exercise  of  legislative  power,  and  no  private 
arrangements  between  such  parties  can  supersede  them." 

UNION  COLLEGE  (1795). 

The  charter  of  Union  College  was  secured  in  1 795  in  response 
to  the  appeal  of  citizens  of  the  State  residing  mainly  in  Schenectady. 
The  name  chosen  was  "indicative  of  the  union  of  the  various 
evangelical  sects  engaged  in  its  foundation."  The  charter  was 
granted  by  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
It  provided  that  the  Trustees  shall  always  be  twenty-four  in  number. 
No  indication  is  given  as  to  the  method  of  continuance  of  Trustees, 
the  one  provision  being  that  "the  said  Trustees  and  their  successors 
shall  be  a  body  corporate  and  politic  and  shall  have  perpetual 
succession." 


23 


In  1 805  an  act  for  endowment  of  the  college  was  passed  by  the 
legislature  of  the  State  "upon  the  express  condition  and  stipulation 
that  the  said  trustees  of  Union  College  shall  make  application  to 
the  Regents  of  the  University  of  this  State"  for  such  amendment  of 
its  charter  as  should  reduce  the  number  of  Trustees  to  twenty-one, 
and  should  constitute  the  Chancellor,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  four  other  officials  of  the  State  ex-officio  Trustees  of  the 
college.  The  Regents  subsequently  took  action  amending  the 
charter,  reciting  that  the  Trustees  of  the  college  had  made  applica- 
tion in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  act.  The  number  of 
Trustees  was  thus  reduced  to  twenty-one,  of  whom  eleven  were 
ex-officio  representatives.  Vacancies  occurring  in  the  remaining 
group  of  ten  were  to  be  filled  by  the  Regents. 

In  1 823  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  reciting  that,  by  a 
reduction  made  in  the  number  of  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State,  the  number  of  Trustees  of  the  college  had  been  reduced, 
and  providing  that  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Govemor  should 
be  added  to  the  number  of  the  Trustees  provided  the  Board  of 
Trustees  should  consent  to  the  change. 

By  the  revised  State  Constitution  of  1846,  the  number  of  ex- 
officio  Trustees  of  the  college  was  reduced  by  elimination  of  the 
Chancellor,  the  Supreme  Court  Justices  and  the  Surveyor  General 
of  the  State.  The  total  number  of  trustees  continued  to  be  twenty- 
one,  of  whom  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Govemor,  Secretary-of- 
State,  Controller,  Treasurer  and  Attorney-General  were  ex- 
officio,  and  fifteen  others  chosen  by  the  Regents  were  permanent 
or  life  Trustees,  and  constituted  a  self  perpetuating  body. 

In  1 87 1 ,  the  charter  of  the  college  was  so  amended  (subject  to 
"the  power  of  the  said  Regents  at  any  time  hereafter  on  cause  satis- 
factory to  them  to  alter  or  repeal  the  ordinance")  that  four  additional 
Trustees  were  to  be  elected  by  the  alumni  of  the  college,  the  voting 
being  restricted  to  graduates  entitled  to  the  Master's  degree.  The 
candidate  must  be  a  graduate  of  ten  years'  standing. 

Under  the  general  provisions  of  the  statutes  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  the  Board  of  Regents  has  power  "to  incorporate  and  to 
alter  or  revoke  the  charters  of  universities,  colleges,  academies, 
libraries  or  other  educational  institutions." 


24 


MIDDLEBURY  COLLEGE  (1800). 

The  President  of  the  college  states  that  no  change  has  been 
made  in  the  original  charter. 

HAMILTON  COLLEGE  (1812). 

The  college  was  an  outgrowth  of  an  academy  formed  in  1793. 
Its  charter  was  granted  by  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  the 
State  of  New  York  in  1812,  in  response  to  a  petition  received  from 
the  trustees  of  "Hamilton  Oneida  Academy"  and  many  citizens. 
The  charter  provided  that  the  Trustees  "shall  always  be  twenty-four 
in  number." 

It  is  not  distinctly  stated  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  be 
self-perpetuating,  the  one  phrase  referring  to  the  perpetuation  of  the 
body  being  "The  said  Trustees  and  their  successors  shall  be  a  body 
corporate  and  politic  by  the  name  of  the  Trustees  of  Hamilton 
College,  and  shall  have  perpetual  succession." 

An  ordinance  to  amend  the  charter  of  Hamilton  College  granted 
by  the  Regents  in  1 875,  on  application  by  the  Trustees  of  the  college, 
provides  that  "four  additional  Trustees  shall  be  chosen  by  the  alumni, 
who  shall  possess  the  same  powers  and  perform  the  same  duties 
as  the  other  Trustees  of  the  college."  Eligibility  is  restricted  to 
graduates  of  at  least  ten  years'  standing.  Trustees  chosen  by  the 
graduates  serve  for  a  term  of  four  years.  The  term  of  other  Trustees, 
elected  by  the  Board,  is  seven  years. 

The  amended  charter  states  "that  the  said  Trustees  and  their 
successors  forever  shall  enjoy  all  the  corporate  rights  and  privileges 
which  the  Regents  of  the  University  are  empowered  to  grant." 

As  stated  in  the  reference  to  the  charter  of  Union  College,  under 
the  general  provisions  of  the  statutes  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
the  Board  of  Regents  has  power  "to  incorporate  and  to  alter  or 
revoke  the  charters  of  universities,  colleges,  academies,  libraries 
or  other  educational  institutions." 

AMHERST  COLLEGE  (1821). 

Amherst  College  was  founded  in  1821  by  a  group  of  Congre" 
gationalist  ministers  and  laymen.  It  was  provided  that  the  number 

25 


of  Trustees,  including  the  President,  "shall  never  be  greater  than 
seventeen."  It  was  composed  originally  of  eight  clergymen  and 
nine  laymen. 

The  five  vacancies  first  occurring  were  to  be  filled  by  a  joint 
ballot  of  the  Legislature  "by  whom  also  the  successors  of  these  five" 
should  be  appointed  "and  so  on  forever."  Other  vacancies  were 
to  be  filled  by  the  Trustees  in  such  manner  that  "the  said  Board 
shall,  as  soon  as  may  be,  and  forever  (hereafter)  consist  of  seven 
clergymen  and  ten  laymen." 

At  one  time  Amherst  received  a  grant  of  about  $50,000  from 
the  State. 

It  was  provided  that  "the  Legislature  may  give  any  further  powers 
to,  or  alter,  limit,  annul  or  restrain  any  of  the  powers  vested  by  the 
act  in  the  said  corporation." 

One  change  in  the  charter  only  is  noted.  In  1 874,  it  was  provided 
that  "the  Trustees  of  Amherst  College  heretofore  chosen  by  the 
legislature  shall  hereafter  be  chosen  by  the  graduates  of  said 
college."  These  Trustees  were  to  be  graduates  of  four  years' 
standing.  President  Harris  states  that  no  other  action  has  been 
taken  by  the  Legislature  except  the  sanctioning  of  increase  in  the 
property  holdings  of  the  College. 

Like  the  charters  of  other  colleges  originating  later  than  1819, 
the  date  of  the  Dartmouth  College  decision,  the  charter  of  Amherst 
is  subject  to  a  reserved  right  of  change  by  the  Legislature. 

TRINITY  COLLEGE  (1823). 

The  charter  of  Trinity  College  was  granted  in  1823.  It  was 
provided  that  vacancies  in  the  governing  body  should  be  filled 
by  the  trustees  who  were  empowered  to  increase  their  number  to 
twenty-four.  The  school  was  opened  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  1 824 
under  the  name  "Washington  College." 

In  1 845,  on  petition  of  the  Corporation,  the  name  was  changed 
to  "Trinity  College." 

The  charter  recites  that  it  was  given  on  petition  of  "sundry 
inhabitants  of  the  State  of  the  denomination  of  Christians  called 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church."  Originally  the  Trustees  were 
twenty  in  number.  It  was  provided  that  "the  said  Trustees  shall 

26 


have  power  to  increase  their  number  from  time  to  time,  at  their 
discretion,  to  the  number  of  twenty-four."  The  body  was  made 
self-perpetuating.  A  section  of  the  charter  provides  that  no 
ordinance  or  by-law  shall  "make  the  religious  tenets  of  any  person 
a  condition  of  admission  to  any  privilege  in  the  said  college"  and 
that  "no  president  or  professor  or  other  officer  shall  be  made 
ineligible"  for  his  position  "by  reason  of  any  religious  tenet  that 
he  may  profess,"  or  be  "compelled  by  the  by-laws  or  otherwise 
to  subscribe  to  any  religious  test  whatsoever." 

In  1883,  it  was  provided  that  three  Trustees  should  be  chosen  by 
the  alumni  for  a  term  of  service  of  three  years  each.  The  candi- 
dates must  be  of  five  years'  standing.  This  provision  was  to  take 
effect  when  the  act  was  accepted  by  the  Trustees. 

There  are  now  twenty-four  Trustees  including  three  elected  by 
the  alumni.  They  include  the  President,  twenty  chosen  by  the 
Board,  and  three  chosen  by  the  alumni. 

An  official  of  the  college  writes,  "The  petition  of  'sundry  in- 
habitants of  the  State  of  the  denomination  of  Christians  called  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church*  indicated  the  religious  conviction  of 
individuals.  The  petition  had  no  denominational  endorsement  from 
the  Church  itself,  and  the  original  Board  of  Trustees  was  not  com- 
posed exclusively  of  Episcopalians." 

WESLEY  AN  UNIVERSITY  (1831). 

Wesleyan  University  was  founded  as  an  institution  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  "the  leading  mem- 
bers of  that  church  being  convinced  of  the  need  of  some  institution 
of  collegiate  rank  which  should  be  under  the  auspices  of  their 
own  denomination."  (President  Foss  1870). 

The  original  charter  was  granted  in  1 83 1 .  The  charter  provided 
for  maintenance  of  a  relation  to  several  of  the  Annual  Conferences 
or  to  the  "General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church."  All  property  of  the  corporation  was  to  be  managed 
for  these  ecclesiastical  bodies.  The  trustees,  originally  twenty-one, 
were  to  fill  vacancies  "provided  the  whole  number  of  said  board 
shall  not  at  any  time  exceed  thirty-nine."  It  was  provided  that 
the  Conferences  should  elect  a  Board  of  Visitors,  not  exceeding 

27 


the  Board  of  Trustees  in  number  and  constituting  with  the  Trustees 
a  joint  board  which  should  be  the  governing  body  of  the  insti- 
tution. "This  charter  included  a  proviso  that  religious  tenets 
should  not  be  a  condition  of  admission  to  any  privilege  or  office 
in  the  University". 

In  1 870,  a  new  charter  was  granted  to  the  college.  By  a  com- 
plete change,  in  which  only  the  enacting  clause  and  the  designation 
of  the  name  of  the  college  was  retained,  all  properties  were  trans- 
ferred to  a  single  Board  of  Trustees.  Each  annual  Conference 
recognized  as  a  "patronizing  Conference"  was  entitled  to  appoint 
"at  least  one  trustee."  Of  these  Conferences,  thirteen  were  named, 
with  provision  that  others  might  be  added.  By  this  reconstructed 
charter,  the  alumni  were  to  elect  five  members  of  the  Board  who 
must  be  graduates  of  three  years'  standing.  The  whole  number 
was  not  to  exceed  forty  including  the  president.  The  remainder 
of  the  Board  was  to  be  chosen  by  the  Board.  It  was  provided 
that  the  "majority  of  the  Trustees,  the  President  and  the  majority  of 
the  faculty  must  be  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 
The  charter  was  to  become  effective  when  approved  by  a  majority 
of  the  present  Board  of  Trustees  and  Visitors 

By  an  amendment  to  the  charter  in  1879  it  was  provided  that 
the  Trustees  might  elect  ten  and  the  alumni  body  five  additional 
members  of  the  Board.  In  1 882  the  college  was  given  a  certain 
exemption  from  taxation. 

In  1907,  it  was  provided  that  "no  denominational  tests  shall  be 
imposed  on  the  choice  of  trustees,  officers  or  teachers,  or  the 
admission  of  students."  An  official  of  the  College  states  that 
this  change,  while  related  to  correspondence  with  the  Carnegie 
Foundation,  was  "the  expression  of  a  deep  and  growing  dissatis- 
faction on  the  part  of  trustees,  faculty  and  alumni  with  the  pro- 
vision that  the  president  and  a  majority  of  the  trustees  and  of  the 
members  of  the  faculty  must  be  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  In  the  matter  of  religious  tests,  the  charter  of  1 907 
has  simply  returned  to  the  spirit  of  the  charter  of  1831."  The 
whole  number  of  Trustees  of  the  institution  was  not  to  exceed  fifty- 
five,  of  whom  the  President  should  be  one.  All  members  were  to 
serve  for  five  years.  Ten  were  to  be  representatives  of  the  alumni. 

28 


Trustees  to  a  number  not  exceeding  one-fourth  of  the  whole  num- 
ber were  to  be  chosen  by  the  Conferences.  Aside  from  the  Alumni 
and  Conference  representation,  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  to  be 
self-perpetuating.  "The  constitution  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  is 
essentially  the  same  in  the  charter  of  1 907  as  in  that  of  1 870. 
The  Conferences  now  choose  thirteen  members  out  a  of  board  of 
trustees  which  when  full  consists  of  fifty-five  members,  the  majority 
of  whom  are  elected  by  the  Board  itself." 

As  in  the  case  of  other  educational  institutions  founded  since 
1819,  a  power  of  revision  of  the  charter  of  the  college  has  remained 
with  the  State. 


29 


SUMMARY. 

I.  Colleges  holding  charters  subject  to  revision  by  the  State : 

1 .  By  express  provision  of  the  charter  or  by  general  legislation 
of  the  State. 

Dickinson;  Williams  (as  to  the  "powers  of  Trustees"); 
Union  (through  the  "Board  of  Regents  of  the  State  of 
New  York");  Bowdoin  (as  to  the  "powers  of  Trustees"); 
Hamilton  (through  the  "Board  of  Regents  of  the  State  of 
New  York"). 

To  this  class  belong  also :  Amherst,  Trinity,  Wesleyan , 
and  all  other  institutions  founded  later  than  1819. 

2.  By  such  relations  originally  sustained   with  the  State  that 
freedom    in   legislative    revision  of  the  charter   is    either 
undeniable  or  apparently  may  reasonably  be  claimed  : 

Harvard  (as  to  the  "Overseers");  Columbia;  Princeton; 
Washington  and  Lee;  Rutgers. 

3.  By  relations  with  the  State   subsequently   assumed  by  the 
college. 

Yale  (as  to  a  section  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  added  in 
1792). 

II.  Colleges  holding  charters  as  to  which  the  State  is  without 
reserved  right  of  revision : 

Harvard  (as  to  the  Corporation)  ;  Yale  (as  to  the 
"Successors  to  the  original  Trustees") ;  University  of 
Pennsylvania;  Brown;  Darthmouth;  Williams  (except  as 
to  the  "powers  of  Trustees");  Bowdoin  (except  as  to  the 
"powers  of  Trustees"). 

III.  Colleges  with  unrestricted  charters  in  which  changes  of  a 
minor  character  have  been  made,  e.  g.,  the  limit   of  property 
holdings,  the  time  and  place  of  holding  meetings,  etc. : 

Dartmouth;  Williams;  Bowdoin. 
30 


IV.  Colleges  with  unrestricted  charters  in  which  any  change  of 
greater  importance  has  been  made  : 

Yale  (in  the  relation  entered  into  with  the  State  in  1 792). 

V.  Colleges  holding  Charters  with  provisions  declared  to  be 
perpetually  binding : 

Brown;  Dartmouth;  Williams;  Bowdoin;  Yale  (a  provision 
introduced  in  1 792  as  to  the  "Successors  to  the  original 
Trustees"). 

VI.  Changes  permanently  secured  in  provisions  declared  to  be 
perpetually  binding  in  charters  unrestricted  by  a  reserved  power  of 
the  State : 

None. 

VII.  Instances  of  vital  change  in  unrestricted  charters  tempora- 
rily made  but  subsequently  overruled. 

1.  Dartmouth  (1816-19).     Changes  enacted  by  the  State 
but    opposed   by   the   Trustees  of   the   College ;    pro- 
nounced by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
unconstitutional. 

2.  Bowdoin  (1822-33).     Changes  enacted  by  the  State 
and  accepted  by  the  govering   Boards  of  the  College ; 
pronounced   unconstitutional   by   Justice   Story   of    the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  when  presiding 
in  the  Circuit  Court. 

CHANGES  IN  CHARTERS  OF  COLLEGES  AFFECTING 
DENOMINATIONAL  RELATIONS. 

I.  It  appears  that  only  colleges  founded  prior  to  1 8 1 9 — the  year 
of  the  Dartmouth  College  decision — afford  light  upon  the  main 
problem  of  Brown,  since  after  this  date,  in  the  founding  of 
colleges  all  States  were  careful  to  reserve  a  right  of  revision  or 
amendment  of  the  charter,  and  gifts  were  made  with  this  under- 
standing. 

31 


II.  Colleges   founded  prior  to    1819,  having  denominational 
provision  in  their  charters  : 

In  relation  to  the  President. 

Columbia. 
In  relation  to  Covering  Boards. 

Harvard;  Brown. 

The  first  charter  of  the  college  now  known  as  Columbia  University 
provided  that  the  President  should  be  in  communion  with  the  Church 
of  England.  This  provision  was  discontinued  at  the  time  of  the 
constitution  of  Columbia  University.  Through  its  close  relation 
with  the  college,  the  State  at  the  time  had  unquestioned  power  to 
make  this  and  other  changes. 

At  Harvard,  the  denominational  provision  related  not  to  the 
Corporation,  but  to  the  Board  of  Overseers  whose  close  relation 
to  the  State  was  recognized  from  the  beginning.  From  1810  to 
1834,  membership  of  clergymen  in  the  Board  of  Overseers  was 
restricted  to  Congregationalists.  In  the  latter  year,  an  act  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  and  accepted  by  the  Governing  Boards 
of  the  College  by  which  membership  in  the  Board  was  open  to 
clergymen  of  all  denominations. 

Brown,  it  would  seem,  offers  the  one  instance  of  proposed 
change  in  provisions  affecting  denominational  relations  in  a  charter 
as  to  which  the  State  has  no  reserved  power  of  revision.  Appar- 
ently, therefore,  the  peril,  alleged  or  real,  of  violation  of  a  civil 
contract  is  met  only  in  the  case  of  Brown. 

III.  With  respect  to  recent  action  of  colleges  due  to  conditions 
imposed  by  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  the  following  institutions  are 
mentioned  in  reports  by  Dr.  Pritchett  issued  in  1 908  and  1 909 : 

Bowdoin  College  (Maine),  Dickinson  College  (Pa.). 

Randolph-Macon  (Women's)  College  (Va.). 
In  these  cases  no   change  in  provisions  of  the  charters   was 
involved.     Bowdoin  adjusted  certain  gifts  which  had  been  condi- 
tioned upon  its  maintenance   of   a    "Trinitarian  Congregational" 
position  and  returned  to  the  donor  one  conditional  gift.     The  other 

32 


two  colleges  claimed  that  relation  to  Methodists  was  only  moral 
and  ultimately  published  statements  saying  that  recognition  in 
the  Methodist  Year  Book  was  unauthorized.  The  Randolph- 
Macon  College  subsequently  withdrew  from  recognition  by  the 
Carnegie  Trustees,  in  the  interest  of  closer  affiliation  with  the 
Methodist  body. 

In  the  following  cases,  while  the  change  effected  or  proposed 
involved  alteration  in  the  provisions  of  charters,  a  right  of  change 
was  reserved  to  the  State  as  was  true  in  general  of  all  institutions 
founded  later  than  1819. 

BATES  COLLEGE— MAINE. 

Founded  in  1830.  In  1863  the  institution  reached  collegiate 
grade  and  secured  a  new  charter.  In  this  there  was  no  denomi- 
national provision,  though  the  institution  was  "to  be  fostered  by 
Free  Baptists."  In  an  amendment  of  the  charter  in  1891,  it  was 
provided  that  the  President  and  majority  of  both  boards  (Fellows 
and  Overseers)  should  be  members  of  Free  Baptist  churches.  In 
1 907  a  change  to  the  earlier  basis  was  effected. 

FRANKLIN  COLLEGE— INDIANA. 

Founded  in  1835.  After  many  vicissitudes,  the  institution  was 
closed  and  in  1 872  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  Stock  Company. 
A  new  act  of  incorporation  provided  that  the  majority  of  the 
Trustees  should  be  Baptists  and  that  this  provision  should  not  be 
subject  to  change. 

In  1 907  the  Company  was  dissolved  and  the  college  was  recon- 
stituted on  an  undenominational  basis.  Consent  to  this  change 
was  sought  and  obtained  from  all  living  subscribers  of  funds  and 
from  the  heirs  of  deceased  subscribers. 

DRAKE  UNIVERSITY— IOWA. 

Founded  in  1881 .  Supported  by  the  "Disciples  of  Christ"  with 
the  understanding  and  provision  that  two-thirds  of  the  trustees 
should  be  elected  by  the  convention  of  that  body  and  two-thirds 
should  be  members  of  its  churches.  Later,  citizens  of  Des  Moines 
became  interested  in  the  college  and  denominational  tests  were 

33 


discontinued,  but  one-fourth  of  the  Trustees  were  still  to  be  elected 
by  the  Convention. 

Being  informed  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  that 
"even  when  the  trustees  elected  by  a  denominational  body  were 
only  a  minority"  recognition  could  not  be  given  to  the  college,  the 
college  secured  the  removal  of  the  restrictive  provision. 

CENTRAL  UNIVERSITY— KENTUCKY. 

The  college  was  re-established  after  the  Civil  War  on  a  joint 
foundation  representative  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  Presby- 
terian churches  and  under  their  control.  The  two  bodies  sought 
to  retain  a  veto  power  in  the  action  of  Trustees  but  the  Carnegie 
Trustees  declined  to  sanction  this. 

DRURY  COLLEGE— MO. 

Founded  in  1 869.  The  original  charter  provides  that  a  majority 
of  the  Trustees  "shall  be  connected  with  the  family  of  Christian 
churches  known  as  Congregationalist."  In  1 907,  upon  application 
by  the  college,  the  legislature  eliminated  denominational  restrictions. 


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